On March 9th, 2008, at 4:00 P.M. EDT, the XYZZY Awards Ceremony was
held at ifMUD. Below is the
transcript of the event, not including side-comments that those in
attendance made on the #peanut-gallery channel. Should you wish to see
those comments, a version with those
comments is also available.

lpsmith says, "So, our next award is for Best Writing. And zarf is back to present. I'm not sure about the elephant, though."zarf gets upMerk claps enthusiastically for AFDFR.duesen points at zarf, "Who's that, again?"zarf says, "Hi all. I'm Andrew Plotkin, also... hang on."zarf shuffles his notes.aash29 says (to lpsmith), "afraid not"zarf makes "No! Do *not* send the elephant on!" gestures at backstage.Taleslinger says (to zarf), "Hehe"zarf says, "The nominees for -- no! Do *not* --!"zarf says, "Hang on."lpsmith says (to aash), "Too bad! Welcome anyway ;-)"zarf goes backstage.zarf says, "Not now."zarf says, "Look, it's nothing personal."aash29 says (to lpsmith), "thanks"zarf says, "You did great. It's just--"zarf says, "Well, that was the Best Puzzles presentation, and now we're on to Best Writing."Thrax says, "yay fits, and also starts"Lee says, ""heh""zarf says, "Please stop crying."zarf says, "No, your career is not over!"zarf says, "You look great. They loved you."duesen laughs.zarf says, "Look, I have to go out and do this thing."zarf asks, "We'll go have a drink after the ceremony? Okay? You, me?"lpsmith hollers backstage "We loved you, elephant!"Lee says, ""haha!""zarf says, "Good kid. Stay right there."zarf comes back on stage and turns his microphone back on.zarf says, "Okay! The nominees for Best Writing!"Merk exclaims, "Yay for writing!"baf lifts his trunk and trumpets!zarf says, "- An Act of Murder, by Christopher Huang as "Hugh Dunnett"!"nm flicks his lighter onJota cheers.Emerald clapsMiseri heard everything from backstage via the wireless.zarf says, "- Child's Play, by Stephen Granade!"lpsmith updates the BEST STORY entry on the chalkboard.Jon arrives from the west.Jota applauds.Ghogg waves his lightstickBaryon clapszarf says, "- Deadline Enchanter, by Alan DeNiro as "Anonymous"!"McMartin arrives from the down.Emerald cheersJota claps.duesen set his pants on fire.zarf says, "- Lost Pig, by Admiral Jota as "Grunk"!"Merk exclaims, "Yeah Murder and Child and Enchanter!"zarf says, "(Grunk like)"Merk exclaims, "And Pig!"Emerald says, "yay!"McMartin exclaims, "Yay!"zarf says, "- The Chinese Room, by Joey Jones and Harry Giles!"Jota claps.McMartin cheers for all nomineeslpsmith claps.Emerald clapszarf says, "and do we have a winner? I think it likely that we do!"duesen says, "pig..."zarf says, "Grunk win writing!"Sargent says, "yay!"DavidW says, "hooray"Taleslinger says, "Yay!!!!"Emily says, "yay!"Emerald says, "woo Grunk!"McMartin exclaims, "Yay Grunk!"Miseri says, "clap!"lpsmith updates the BEST WRITING entry on the chalkboard.lpsmith cheers!Jota exclaims, "Thank you!"Merk exclaims, "Yeah Grunk!"zarf sits downJota says, "The writing in this game was, of course, a collaborative effort."djfletch clap hand lotsJota says, "Grunk produced most of the raw text, and I transcribed it and assigned it to actions as best I could."duesen laughs.Jota says, "We're both hoping that some day, he'll be able to produce more of his memoirs. Whether in interactive or static form."Jota says, "But I am also hoping that he's able to find a real scribe to write it all down for him next time."Jota says, "Because, man, writing that stuff can break your brain after a while."duesen nods.Jota waves and returns to his seat.Merk claps again.Emerald applaudsEmily says, "yay"duesen kisses Jota.lpsmith says, "Heh."olethros has disconnected.olethros has connected.